Chance Encounters
by Emerald Lotus
Summary: First impressions are always important, and can even shape the friendships that you form. A series of short stories with some of the first interactions between Wally and Dick.


The party was a bore. He wanted to stay at home but Bruce had convinced him that being out at social events would widen his social standing and help him acclimate to the new type of living style he had been pulled into. Thus suits and ties were now a norm for the young Richard Grayson.

It had only been about 8 months since he'd started living with Bruce Wayne and 4 months since he had discovered his secret and decided to partake in having a secret as well. Now they were in Central City, unfortunately not to fight crime, but rather attend a party dedicated to the police department. Wayne Enterprises donated to their vastly under equipped forensic department, so Bruce of course had to make an appearance. It was also in celebration and respect for solving one if the more horrific murder cases that had seen the streets of central in over 10 years.

Dick knew he should pay more attention but as soon as he found an opening he escaped to the balcony of the ballroom. He did his part and sat through the speeches, but once everyone was up and mingling, he decided to disappear from the crowd.

The hotel they were in was only ten stories high and it was the tallest building in this part if the city. It dwarfed in comparison to anything that was in Gotham. Dick got up on the thick cement ledge of the building and looked down at the cars sluggishly crawling through the road like ants. He sighed and walked along the ledge like the balance beam he practiced on everyday in the gym.

"Impressed with the view?" A voice asked suddenly.

It startled Dick and messed with his footing. His dress shoes slipped on the cement sending his body weight forward and over the ledge. Before he went completely over he could see someone with red hair all the way across the balcony at least a hundred feet away. Dick reached out his hand reflexively even though his brain knew it was too late to be saved. The person was too far away.

_How stupid_, Dick thought. _I run on rooftops every night chasing criminals, and now I'm going to fall from not paying enough attention._

He closed his eyes and just as he felt he was about to plummet to the asphalt below. Someone snatched his hand and with an inhuman speed flung him backwards into the opposite wall. His back smacked roughly against the wall and the breath escaped his lungs. His vision blurred into black, and his ears were ringing from the sudden forceful movement.

It took a few minutes for him to get his bearings back, and when his hearing returned someone was talking quickly next to him.

"Whoa dude. You okay. Oh man I should go get someone. Can you breathe, can you even hear me? Crap, not good, not good."

The questions came in a flurry and Dick could barely register what he was saying. He opened his eyes and found a young kid who was probably only twelve or so, obviously not much older than himself. He had reached Dick so quickly it was almost impossible... unless you were the Flash, or his sidekick.

"You're Kid Flash," Dick said still a bit dazed. He could see instantly that he struck a chord. The kid looked totally taken aback.

"What noooooo. Me? That's impossible," The boy laughed nervously.

"About as impossible as it was for you to reach me in time, and then fling me into a wall."

"Ah. Well you see…"

"I saw you. You were over there," Dick pointed at the door.

"Um," he sighed. "Yeah. Geez please don't tell anyone. There's the whole secret ID thing you know. If Flash found out that you knew he would flip!"

Dick laughed. "I know that much. Thanks for saving me, but you gotta work on your technique. Man, that hurt."

"Sorry about that but you shouldn't have been standing up there anyway. That was crazy."

"Maybe but I'm used to being up high. I just let my guard down, that's all. I didn't expect anyone to come outside," Dick explained.

"What's your name kid?"

"I'm Richard Grayson, but my friends call me Dick."

The boy's eyes widened with realization "Oh you're with Bruce Wayne. Cool. I'm Wally west. My uncle works in the forensic department so he let me come along. It's awesome that I got to meet you, Dick."

"Except that you almost got me killed," Dick said dryly.

"Dude, like I said you shouldn't have been on the ledge to begin with. Why were you even up there? Trying to be a daredevil or something?"

Dick turned away from Wally. "You wouldn't understand."

"Sure I would. You just gotta say something."

"It's not easy to explain."

Wally didn't say anything, just gave him a look.

"I just don't want to be afraid of heights. I wasn't'...before, you know, right?" Wally nodded, understanding what Dick was referring to. "But sometimes I get nervous. And I don't want that to happen. I want to be able to do the things I've always done without fear."

"Uh-huh. That doesn't seem so complicated. I get it. I can't really imagine how it must be for you entirely but it is understandable." Wally said and sat down next to Dick. The two of them sat in silence for a few minutes, until Wally decided to break it.

"I guess I'll tell you a secret," Wally started. Dick looked at him interested in what he had to say. "After I got my powers I was scared to death. I tried to replicate the way Flash got his powers and ended up in the hospital instead. I thought I could do it since I was really good at science, a few grade levels ahead. The formulas all made sense, I didn't see any flaws. But after the explosion I was unconscious for a week and when I tried running I was as normal as I had ever been. Then one day I was running home because I was late and woosh! Off I went. I couldn't slow down and when I actually did I was somewhere in Canada," Wally said ending with an exasperated tone.

Dick stifled a laugh. "Seriously?"

"Yeah. And when I made my way back to the city I was so worn out I passed out on Uncle Barry's front porch. I have a hyper metabolism. So I have to eat a lot when I run or else my body doesn't have enough energy to move. So sometimes now I'm afraid I'll run and won't be able to stop anymore."

"Wow. That sounds intense," Dick said not knowing what else to say to Wally. He couldn't really fathom how it felt to run like that. It must be both amazing and terrifying.

"Well, that's my secret…that I told to a complete stranger. Hm, probably not one of my better decisions."

The glass door to the balcony opened and an elderly man dressed in a suit walked out. "Ah, there you are Master Richard."

"Hey Alfred," Dick waved.

"Master Bruce is almost finished with the party. We will be going back to the hotel shortly."

"All right. I'll be there in a minute."

"Very good, Master Richard," Alfred offered a small smile and returned inside.

Wally got to his feet and offered Dick a hand. He took it and was pulled to his feet.

"Ow, I think my ribs are bruised," Dick winced.

"Ah, sorry about that," Wally said sheepishly. "I'm still getting a working on controlling myself."

"No worries, I've had worse."

"Like what?" Wally asked, trying to imagine what Dick could have been talking about. He didn't look like the type to get into trouble.

Dick smirked. "Haha, that's a story for another day."

"All right then," Wally said, a bit skeptical.

Dick headed inside, Wally trailing behind him. Bruce was waiting for him off to the side with Alfred and offered a small smile to him.

"I gotta go. Thanks for the save back there," Dick offered his hand to Wally.

Wally took it in his, shaking it. "No problem, dude. Hopefully I'll see you around again."

"Probably sooner than you think," Dick said, giving him a knowing smile. Wally just looked slightly confused. "Bye, KF!"

Before Wally could respond Dick ran off to meet up with Bruce and Alfred. Then they disappeared into the elevator.

"KF?" Wally said to himself. "Hm catchy. I like it."

* * *

**A little story of a possible scenario I thought up of how Dick and Wally. I may continue this with other scenes and first time interactions.  
**


End file.
